1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to molecular communication, and more particularly, to a molecular communication system and method in which information encoded molecules are encapsulated in a molecular capsule and transmitted from a molecular transmitter to a molecular receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years and continuing, studies and research have been made of molecular communication systems using nano-scale chemical substances (molecules) as information carriers. In a molecular communication system, information is encoded onto molecules and communication is done based on biochemical reactions caused upon reception of the information encoded molecules. See, for example, S. Hiyama, et al., “Molecular Communication,” Proceedings on NSTI Nanotechnology Conference and Trade Show 2005, vol. 3, pp. 391-394, May, 2005, as well as S. Hiyama, et al., IEICE journal, Vol. 89, No. 2, pp. 162-166, February, 2006.
Unlike existing communication technologies that use electromagnetic waves (electric signals or optical signals) as information carriers, molecular communication uses biochemical signals which cause slow speed communication and small energy consumption. Molecular communication has high potentiality for applications of a communication between nano-scale devices that cannot use electromagnetic waves by capability reasons or environmental reasons and an operational control of nanomachines that are not composed by electronic components and cannot be driven by electronic signals.
In molecular communication, a molecular transmitter generates molecules for encoding information (referred to simply as “information molecules”), encodes information onto the information molecules, and emits the information molecules to the environment. The emitted information molecules are carried to a molecular receiver through a molecule propagation channel. The molecular receiver uptakes the propagated information molecules, decodes the information, and expresses biochemical reaction.
Information molecules in molecular communication are likely to be denaturalized due to the interaction with resolving enzyme (or degradative enzyme) existing in the propagation environment or due to environmental factors such as temperature, pH, or light, and the encoded information may be lost during the propagation. To avoid this inconvenience, it is proposed to encapsulate the information molecules in a molecular capsule called vesicle which has the lipid bilayer membrane structure. See, for example, Y. Moritani, et al., “Molecular Communication for Health Care Applications,” Proceedings on Fourth IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications WORKSHOPS, pp. 549-553, March 2006.
This publication, however, proposes only an idea of encapsulating information molecules in a molecular capsule for propagation, and there is no method disclosed concretely for encapsulating the information molecules. Accordingly, it is desired to present how information molecules are actually encapsulated in a molecular capsule prior to transmission, and how the encapsulated information molecules are actually taken out of the molecular capsule and introduced into the molecular receiver.